The Beginning
by Cherry and Raven
Summary: Can you fall in love when you're six? Probably not. But you can feel a strong pull towards someone, and decide you'll love her later. ItaSaku. Non-mass.


**THE BEGINNING**

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His father would probably kill him too if he found out what he had been doing lately instead of shuriken practice. Well, he wouldn't be too disappointed he hoped, clearly his father saw that he didn't have to practice shuriken at age 6 when he already had mastered the art.

"Itachi-kun, how old are you now?" Mebuki asked Itachi as she walked into the room with Mikoto and a little toddler trying to be free from his mother's soft grasp.

"I'm six, Haruno-sama" Itachi answered politely to the blond woman seated next to his mother and a struggling Sasuke.

"He's growing up way too fast," Mikoto declared and made a gesture with one hand, which also made the struggling toddler in her lap go through with the escape plan.

With a squeal of delight, met by the sounds of small, clapping hands, he ran over to sit beside his big brother and the toddler in Itachi's lap.

The baby girl looked up at Itachi with fearless, wide, green eyes before her face broke into a wide grin. Sakura, as she was called, reached up to pat Itachi's face carefully, as to not hurt his pale skin, afraid something so beautiful might break.

"I think she likes you, Itachi!" Mebuki said softly, staring at her daughter lovingly as Mikoto let out a soft laugh.

"Very much it seems," Itachi caught the mischievous look in his mother's eyes and could only feel the dread overcoming him. The women looked at each other and smirked before chuckling at the six year old covered in toddlers; One on his lap smiling adoringly up at him, and one at his side, clinging to his arm.

"Have you considered … getting married someday, Itachi-kun?" Mebuki asked and his mother's grin grew bigger. If his mother had any to say in this matter he knew he would, but yet he did not know what was expected of him to wed. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to get married.

"_Married?_" He knew he sounded horrified, and did nothing to hide it, already having enough with holding a squirming toddler still on his lap. It sure as hell wasn't easy when all she wanted was to pet him, hold his hands and shirt, and play with his hair. One side of the mouth quirked up when he looked down on the rosette in his lap, staring innocently up at him, before looking back up to his mother and Mebuki.

"What … would I have to do?" Itachi asked warily, and his mother's gaze softened as she noticed his discomfort.

"Well… You would have to take care of the wife you choose, love her with everything you got, and most importantly, you'll have to protect her."

A frown appeared at the already handsome face as Itachi looked down at the girl in his lap while she stared with wide eyes up at him. The green in them sparkled and glinted with happiness and admiration.

"If I have to _protect_ her, would it be like a mission?"

A light chuckle escaped Mebuki as she answered, "I guess you could call it that! But remember Itachi, this is a mission only the bravest shinobi take on."

Again Itachi looked down at the girl on his lap while ignoring his brothers demand for attention as he tugged his sleeve, rather forcibly too. "Will the girls at the academy stop bothering me?"

The answers he got from the two women were chuckles and nods.

"The woman you choose will be the _only_ one you give your heart to, and she will give you hers!" Mikoto explained and the two mothers laughed at a face Sasuke made when he didn't obtain his brothers attention.

Itachi smiled, though only a little, down at the giggling girl on his lap. He had always liked this girl, even though she was just a toddler. But she would grow up, and so would he, and he knew it was something special about her. Something that needed protection.

"Then I'll marry Sakura!" He declared and the mothers stopped laughing and only stared at him, but eventually their gazes softened and a light chuckle escaped their lips.

"Wait a few years, and if you still want to, you'll have a chance!"

Itachi nodded, determined. Sakura would be his, and no others would have her.

When they were both grown up that is, but until then, he would protect her from potential suitors…

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**A/N:** I made this because .. idk .. thought it would be cute or something :D  
Anyhow, it's short and will probably be a prequel to a story I'm working on, a ItaSAku story, so stay tuned if you liked this little introduction :D


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